As NBA Commissioner Adam Silver investigates recent allegations of racism against Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, USA TODAY Sports takes a look back at his ownership of the franchise that has reached the postseason seven times in his 33 years as owner.

1981: Sterling buys the struggling San Diego Clippers for about $13 million.

1984: The Clippers relocate north, to Los Angeles, as attendance and interest in San Diego was low.

1988: The Clippers get the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft for the first time in franchise history and select Danny Manning from Kansas. Manning struggles with injuries in his rookie season but eventually becomes an All-Star before being traded in 1994.

1992: The Clippers make the playoffs for the first time under Sterling and first time since 1976, when they were the Buffalo Braves. Coach Larry Brown's team, led by Manning, beats the Utah Jazz in Game 3 but is forced to relocate to Anaheim for Game 4 because of the Rodney King riots. The Clippers lose the series 3-2.

1996: Sterling shoots down a deal, according to the Los Angeles Times, to move the Clippers to Anaheim, where they would have shared a venue with the Anaheim Ducks.

1998: The Clippers get the No. 1 pick in the draft for the second time under Sterling and select Michael Olowokandi out of Pacific. Olowokandi proceeded to average 9.9 points and 8.0 rebounds in five seasons with the Clippers and has gone down as a major draft bust.

GALLERY: Donald Sterling through the years

Longtime Clippers owner Donald Sterling, shown in 2010, has been banned by the NBA. Flip through this gallery for more of Sterling. (Photo: Mark J. Terrill, AP)

Sterling and former GM Elgin Baylor pose after Baylor, who later sued the team for wrongful termination, won the 2005-06 NBA Executive of the Year Award. (Photo: Andrew D. Bernstein, NBAE/Getty Images)

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1999: The Clippers move to Staples Center, sharing the building with Los Angeles Lakers after years of having Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena to themselves and the University of Southern California. The move comes before the same season that began a run of three championships in a row for the Lakers.

2006: The U.S. Department of Justice sues Sterling for housing discrimination, claiming he had made statements against renting to Latino and black tenants. Sterling settled the lawsuit in 2009, with a payout of $2.765 million.

2008: The Clippers open a 42,500 square-foot complex in Playa Vista, Calif., for training and practice, which Sterling paid for himself at an estimated cost of $50 million.

2009: Longtime Clippers executive Elgin Baylor files a civil lawsuit for wrongful termination against Sterling and the organization. In the lawsuit's initial filing, Baylor said Sterling embraced "a Southern plantation-type structure." During the trial, a bevy of allegations of racism were levied against Sterling, many involving former Clippers players.

2009: The Clippers get the No. 1 overall draft pick, their third under Sterling, and select Blake Griffin of Oklahoma, who has developed into a perennial All-Star.

2011: The NBA, running the New Orleans Hornets, rejects a trade of Hornets star point guard Chris Paul to the Lakers and instead agrees to a deal sending Paul and two second-round draft picks to the Clippers for Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu and a first-round pick.

2014: Gossip website TMZ.com releases an audio recording of a man the site says is Sterling speaking with a female friend and deriding her affiliation with several prominent black people.

Game 5 in Los Angeles -- Clippers 113, Warriors 103: Dewayne Williams of Memphis participates in a demonstration in front of Staples Center demanding the sale of the Los Angeles Clippers prior to the game. The NBA handed down a lifetime ban on Clippers owner Donald Sterling after it was confirmed that he made racist comments captured on a recording by his girlfriend. (Photo: Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY Sports)

Game 4 in Oakland -- Warriors 118, Clippers 97: Golden State guard Stephen Curry gets back on defense after making one of his five first-quarter three-pointers. (Photo: Kelley L. Cox, USA TODAY Sports)